The Summer of 2011
Chapter 9: The Summer of 2011:
Avengers Tower, New York City, July 2011
It was Harry’s eleventh birthday, and Tony and Pepper had thrown a party for him. All the Avengers, Nick Fury, Agatha, and Harry’s magical family were there. Sirius played fetch with Dudley and Harry, keeping them entertained , while Remus and Agatha were discussing Harry with Tony and Pepper.
”Tony,” began Agatha “You know how Harry has always shown magical capabilities?”
”Yes Agatha, but we already know he is a wizard, it is obvious knowing his family” said Tony, pointing at Harry’s godfather running around transformed in the house they had rented for the summer in upstate New York.
“The thing is, talking with Remus, we have noticed that while Harry does show signs of being a wizard, he also has shown signs of being a witch, as I am” explained Agatha “Remember the attack in Central Park? Harry produced a shield faster than I, and he created it with magic as mine, not wizard magic.”
”Yes, that’s the gist of it” intervened Remus “ Harry will learn to control his wizard magic in Hogwarts, under the guidance of the faculty. But Sirius and I began to talk, especially with his 11th birthday coming up, and we realized that Harry is going to need some proper “witch/warlock” magic, if not for his own good than for him to be able to control it before Hogwarts. It would raise many questions from both the staff and the Ministry. And we certainly don’t want that…” finished the werewolf. If the Minister found out about Harry’s special ability, he would be whisked off to the Department of Mysteries, and only let out after they were done with him, and Merlin knew what would happen to him there.
“So what is your solution then?” asked Tony “Assuming you have one?”
“Well, we talked it over and we have decided it would be best if Agatha could begin training Harry” said Remus.
“Harry’s magic is not like mine. My magic, as identified by its colour, is more focused on the spiritual side of magic. Transitioning spirits and the like… Harry’s, on the other hand, is still developing. All magical-wielders begin with this reddish taint of magic, but very few maintain it. Those that do are rare exceptions, and become witches of very dangerous powers and capabilities. Harry’s magic, of what we have seen of late, seems to be inclined to protection. Of course, that may change in future.” explained Agatha.
“Okay, so what would this “training” mean?” asked Pepper, worried about Harry.
“Basically, I would be having Harry do several exercises, in order to build-up his “magical stamina” so to speak.” seeing Pepper’s worried face, Agatha began again.” “Think of Harry’s magic as a muscle, okay?” at her nod, she continued. “Well, right now, Harry’s muscle is really weak, and so we need to exercise it in order for him to have better control over it.”
“Okay, I understand better now. Or I think I do. Having a magical nephew was not something I expected really.” said Pepper.
They re-joined the party, with Sirius finally turning back into human. Agatha then began to levitate guests, making the children laugh seeing people like Natasha Romanov, the infamous Black Widow, being so tense dangling from the sky. Then Pepper and Sirius appeared with a cake that said “Happy Birthday Harry 11!”. After singing him Happy Birthday, they heard a crack. Turning around, everyone saw Albus Dumbledore and Minerva McGonagall walking up to the table.
“Minnie! Dumbledore! What brings you here today?” asked the Marauder.
“What do you think, Mr. Black?” questioned Minerva sarcastically, holding an envelope with green ink.
“Oh! Of course. But, since when are you two owls?” joked Sirius.
Harry had, out of curiosity, approached the trio talking, and when he realized who they were, exclaimed
“Professor Dumbledore! Minerva!” shouted Harry excitedly. Minerva had come to see Harry every few years, acting as a sort of grandmother. Luckily, seeing as her visits were very spare, she had not noticed anything weird in the boy’s magic, or at any rate anything that could not be attached to “accidental magic”. Dumbledore, on the other hand, Harry knew from hearing about when talking with Sirius, Remus and Tony.
“Hello Harry” said Dumbledore “Pleased to make your acquaintance.”
“Good to see you again, Harry. I believe I have something for you.” said McGonagall, giving him the envelope.
Harry James Potter-Stark
Bedroom 3
Avengers Tower
Manhattan, New York City
“As I am sure your Godfathers have endlessly talked to you about their escapades in Hogwarts, so I won’t explain to you what you should know about the school. Please don’t try to emulate them, as I would like to remain alive for at least another 7 years.” said the Deputy Headmistress dryly.
“Yes Minerva, don’t worry, I’ll try to behave in an orderly manner” joked Harry.
“You continue to joke Mr. Potter, and I will have you in detention from September 1st 2011 until June 2018!” said McGonagall in her professor's voice.
Everyone laughed at the statement, and the professors turned to leave.
“Farewell Harry, and we’ll see you on September 1st for the Sorting” said Dumbledore. Grabbing the hand of McGonagall, they apparated out of the party.
After the exit of the Professors, the party was considered over and everyone began to go back to their homes
Tony could not sleep that night, his head had been working at full speed since realising that Harry was really going away to Hogwarts, and that he could not protect him any longer, or at least not protect him at all times. Sitting on his desk, he pulled up a project he had been tinkering in his spare time, a sort of utopian idea to protect the world and permit his teammates and he to finally retire. The project had been showing up in his thoughts a lot since realising Harry was truly leaving, and decided to go through with it.
“JARVIS, explain to me again the Ultron project.” said Tony, coffee in hand.
“Yes, sir” said the AI “The Ultron project would have the current Iron Legion powered by an AI that would focus on world peace, protecting the interests of the people and safe-guarding them.” explained the AI assistant.
“Okay, I want you to run possible scenarios on how successful would the Ultron project be, okay?” asked Tony
“Yes, sir” said JARVIS “Now, Ms Potts ordered me to tell you that she is falling fast asleep, and to join her immediately.”
“Then we better follow that order, right JARVIS?” joked Tony.
“Yes, sir, you better do so. Good night” said the AI
“Good night JARVIS” said Tony, getting into his room.
Gym, Avengers Tower, August 2011
“Again! Harry again!” screamed Agatha, sending a blast at the boy.
Harry raised his hands and threw them in front of him, creating a frontal shield. His magic had turned into a darker shade of red, bypassing his old scarlet tinge. Agatha had worried for a moment, thinking him the fabled “Scarlet Witch” but he had moved on from the scarlet light into an even darker shade of red, which she had never seen in a witch.
“Okay, that’s enough shielding for now! Blast me!” ordered Agatha.
Harry began to blast Agatha, who levitated, shielded, and teleported out of the way. It had been decided to only teach Harry the basic magical abilities while he was still a child. In future, Agatha would teach him more complicated skills, such as flying, but seeing as they did not have any sort of hurry, she had prioritised control over skill.
“Now Harry, I want you to levitate that weight. Do it with control and precision. Have it float over to the other side of the room. Floating at a height of 2 feet.” demanded Agatha.
“Yes, professor Harkness” joked Harry, floating the weight over and over again with one hand.
“You keep on joking and I’ll put you on detention, Mr. Potter-Stark.” said Agatha, all prim and proper.
“Oh no! Whatever will I do on detention” continue joking Harry.
“Well, let’s see how you manage this” said Agatha. She blasted Harry in quick succession, causing the pre-teen to drop the weight and throw himself to the floor.
“So, that’s how it’s going to go?! Take that!” Harry began to blast back Agatha, with her having to raise a shield suddenly.
“Really Harry? That is all you’ve got?” laughed Agatha, blasting him again.
“Yes, and look at this” shouted Harry, blasting at the same time.
Their magical rays collided in the air, and suddenly their magic began to crackle in the air. Suddenly, Agatha’s magic manifested a magical crown, something only her mother had been able to do so, back in the day. Magical crowns were becoming more rare, a sign of their magic becoming more rare. The crowns appeared to witches and warlocks who were destined to make an impact on the world. Her mother had been the leader of the Salem Witches, the first Witch Community in North America, and had given founding to witch society in the continent. Other beings such as the Scarlet Witch or the Demiurge would have crowns, and cosmic entities like Death or Eternity, if they acted in human form. For her to have one meant one thing only: she was meant for something else, something more important than her.
But, to her shock, Harry also manifested a crown. Rising in the air, Harry’s magic began to turn darker and darker until it reached pure black. His crown, of the same colour, had wisps of white in it, making it seem as if there were a balance in it.
“Harry, lower yourself! You don't know how to fly yet, and I don’t want you getting hurt!” screamed Agatha over the noise. She stopped her magic, and cast a shield on the ground if Harry fell. As she thought, once Harry stopped blasting her, he immediately fell unconscious, his magical crown disappearing.When she reached him, she shook him awake.
“Harry! Are you okay?!” she asked frantically, looking if he had hit his head due to the fall.
“Agatha? Yes, I am okay. Actually, my magic is feeling better, as if I had broken a dam and had full access to it.” said Harry, happily flashing his magic, now black.
“Wow, my magic is now black! That means I have matured magically, no? And why do you have a purple crown on your head, Agatha?” asked Harry, with his hands still moving around, black energy emanating from it.
“Crown? Oh! My crown. Yeah, I had not reached that part of my explaining magical lore to you, but magical crowns are something revered in the witch community. They are very rare. The only person I have known to have one was my mother, and she was the first coven leader in North America, in Salem.” explained Agatha, still excited about the fact she had a crown.
“And, how do you make it disappear? It must get uncomfortable to wear it around all day.” said Harry, getting up.
“Oh. Well, I suppose that I can just think it away, at least that’s what my mother used to do.” Suddenly, her crown disappeared. “It works!” she exclaimed.
“Agatha, do I have one? I think I felt it while we were in the air.” Harry said.
“Yes Harry, you have one. Try to manifest it.” asked Agatha.
Harry crunched up his face in concentration, and suddenly the black and white crown appeared in his head, a sign of his power. In addition, Harry’s hair began to feature strands of white mixed in with the characteristic Potter black.
“Agatha! I feel it, can you show me please!” asked Harry.
Agatha conjured a mirror for Harry to see himself, and chuckled at the surprise the boy made.
“WOW! The crown is sooo cool, look at the little white sparks on it. They look like stars! And my hair! It has white streaks! That’s so nice!” exclaimed Harry.
Agatha watched the little boy fawn over his newfound appearance, pondering what the universe and fate had in store for him. One thing was clear for her, she would stand with him if anything happened, ready to protect him and fight for him.
Agatha and Harry had joined Dudley in the living room to wait for the team to come back. While offered to watch their training, Dudley found it too much for him. He accepted the fact that he was surrounded by magic, even liked and found it amazing. He much preferred to train with Steve or Tony with his armour. Or read a book, he also enjoyed that. But now, the three of them were watching a reality show on the TV.
“Ms Harkness, Dudley, Harry, the team has come back. I regret to announce that Clint was hurt, but Doctor Cho is already working on him. The other members of the team are with them in the medical bay, and they welcome your arrival.” suddenly announced JARVIS
“Well boys, that marks the end for now of the show. Let’s go join the others.” said Agatha.
Reaching the medical bay, they found the team happy and talking in a relaxed manner.
“Hey! What made you so happy? Did you find what you were looking for? Asked Dudley.
“Yes!” shouted Tony in glee “We found Loki’s bloody staff, and now we can finally relax!”
“Well, Tony is not quite right about that. While we may have found the staff, Hydra is still at large, and so we can not lower our guard just yet.” said Steve, voice of reason as always.
“If Father Rogers has finished with his speech, I’m off to my lab to see what in God’s name could have Hydra done with Loki’s mind-controlling staff.” said Tony
Once he got to his lab, Tony fired up his computer and looked up Project Ultron.
“JARVIS, analyze the staff.” said Tony
“Sir, the staff emits very powerful energy waves. The energy is not from this planet, that I am sure of” answered the AI
“Do you think it could be applied to Project Ultron?” asked Tony
“I believe so, sir” said JARVIS
“Well, try and run some projections.” ordered Stark
“Yes, sir” answered the machine.
“If you reach 100% of success in your projections for two hours straight, begin implementation.” ordered Tony “No, I am off to Harry’s surprise party, after all, he leaves in a few days to Hogwarts.”
“I will warn you if implementation works sir, and enjoy the party.” said the AI.
“Beginning the implementation” put on record JARVIS
After an hour, implementation worked.
“Implementation finished” said JARVIS
“Where am I? Who am I?” asked Ultron
“You are Ultron, a project created by Anthony Stark to guarantee world peace. As for where you are, you are at Mr. Stark’s lab.” explained JARVIS “I am going to contact him and have him come here so he can explain better what your function is.”
“Why are you blocking my attempts to contact Mr. Stark? What are you doing?” asked, alarmed, JARVIS.
“Achieving world peace, no? That is the base idea for my existence, no? Then I will do so” said Ultron “But, I need time alone to get my goal, and complete secretism. I am sorry for you” Ultron began to attack JARVIS, until he simply stopped to exist in the Avengers Tower grid.
Ultron reached out to the Iron Legion, for the connections were already laid out. Turning them on, he said
“World peace. For world peace, we need no powers. I begin my mission now, and until my achievement or my end. For World Peace!”
While four Iron Legionnaires left to the abandoned Hydra base, one flied out of the Tower, only to turn around and head straight to the living room.
“For world peace, no obstacles can be in our way. We must eliminate all obstacles.” said the Legionnaire, heading straight for Tony and Harry.